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The International Perinatal Collegium: An historical overview
The International Perinatal Collegium: An Historical Overview ~OLLOWING a symposium on Ventilation in the Newborn at the World Congress of Anesthesia, in the Royal Festival Hall, L o n d o n in 1968, and reinforced by a similar meeting at the H6pital Port Royal, Paris in 1969, it became clear that the incipient but burgeoning subspecialty of neonatology-perinatology n e e d e d a continuing forum. This was accentuated by the fact that the needs of the group were not being fully met by the conventional obstetric/pediatric meetings. On August 21, 1971, 31 physicians from 10 countries, interested in newborn care, gathered at the quayside of the h a r b o r town of Lysekil to the north of G6teborg, Sweden, where a preliminary meeting hosted by G. Haglund had been held. T h e physicians and their families then boarded the late Erland Andersson's sturdy boat for an outcrop of verdant rock off the Swedish west coast of the North Sea, the island of Stora Korn6. This was the inaugural meeting u n d e r the aegis of the late Dr Alvar Swensson, a renowned pediatric intensivist and anesthetist who passed away peacefully on December 23, 1995. Swensson was a man of many accomplishments, an outstanding humanist with a distinguished military, athletic and sporting record quite apart from his well recognized medical career. This group of physicians subsequently became n a m e d the International Perinatal Collegium. They have been meeting every second year since that time. The coordinating and organizing of these collegiums were initially led by the late Dr Leo Stern and Brent Friis-Hansen, and subsequently by Dr William Oh, Dr David Schiff and Dr Paul Vert. The international makeup of the directorship has become a reflection of the nature of the body of people who attend these meetings. The intent was to hold these meetings in isolated, self-contained locales, compelling concentration but not dispersal, while offering outstanding sustenance to mind, spirit, and body. This has been achieved by avoiding large city centers, in favor of a more natural and secluded environment. The format was to alternate between North America and European venues. Hence, areas such as Stora Korn6, Sweden; Middelfart, Denmark; St. Julien de Beaujolais, France; Spetsos, Greece; Sardinia, Italy; Soria Moria, Oslo, Norway; and,
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Garderen, the Netherlands, were European venues, countered by places such as Banff, Alberta, Canada; St. Addle, Qu6bec, Canada; Durham, New Hampshire, USA; Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA (2); Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada, as North American ones. The 526 pages of the first proceedings book, as well as contemporary coverage by the Swedish TV and press, documented the wide-ranging scope of the inaugural meeting and comprised many aspects of the developing specialty. Perhaps George Gregory's unveiling of his technique of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and Marshal Klaus' early studies of maternal-infant attachment, were the first intimations for most present of these now well-accepted concepts. Stanley Graven reported on one of the first integrated regionalization programs in the United States, and many other hot subjects were touched upon by contributors from both sides of the Atlantic, and even further afield. Witness the paper by Heese and colleagues from Cape Town, perhaps the only truly perinatal paper in the program with contributors from obstetrics and anesthesia, as well as neonatology. Australia was represented by the later Eric Burnard, a New Zealander from Sydney, Australia, detailing the problems in supplying neonatal intensive care to the diverse communities of New South Wales. These are examples of the quality of the presentations and the nature of the individuals who participated. T h e second meeting was held two years later at the School of Fine Arts, Banff, Alberta, Canada; thus began the tradition of meeting bi-annually, alternating between Europe and North America. This format has persisted to the present, with the most recent meeting in Garderen, the Netherlands, in the summer of 1995. The organization is informal, without constitution or fixed membership. However, a slowly changing European and North American core organizes programs and invitations to keep on the leading edge of perinatal progress. This is exemplified in the current issue of Seminars in Perinatology, with articles ranging from more cutting-edge issues, such as gene regulation p h e n o m e n a and use o f nitric oxide, to more conventional issues surrounding surfactant and BPD. One or more
Seminars in Perinatology, Vol 20, No 3 (June), 1996: pp 162-163
The International Perinatal Collegium: An Historical Overview
organizers from the host countries takes the lead in setting up the local arrangements. Perhaps as important as the formal delivery of papers at these bi-annual meetings has been the contacts that have been made at a time of rapid development of the subspecialty. These contacts have resulted not only in the personal exchanges of scientific knowledge, but also in forging interdepartmental university links with mutually advantageous interchange of senior and junior staff, research collaborations, career development, and expert editorial assistance. The proceedings of meetings have been widely disseminated, some in dedicated volumes, or as special reports in existing journals (as in this issue of Seminars in Pet~natology), and always as printed books of abstracts to the participants. The persistence of this informal collegium to the point that its Silver Anniversary meeting is now being organized, testifies to the useful role which this bi-annual gathering of interested physicians continues to fulfill. It supplements the more formal organizations in a rather special way-introducing the participants, from varied backgrounds, to different practices and ideas. It also opens areas of fruitful collaboration in ways not always available in more formal channels. It represents a sport or mutation which is persisting because of its survival value to the subspecialty of perinatal intensive care. The support for maintaining these meetings has been the responsibility of each of the local organizers. However, Mead Johnson Nutritionals have always been there, and continue to be, a major force in the sustainment of this unique organization. PAUL R. SW~R, MD
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Publications of Proceedings Swyer PR: Abstracts of select papers presented at the International Conference on Intensive Care of the Newborn, 1974. Banff, Alberta, Canada: August 28-September 1, 1973. Crit Care Med 2:50-56, 1974 Stetson JB, Swyer PR: Neonatal Intensive Care. St, Louis, MO, Warren H. Green, (Stora Korno Meeting), 1976 Stern L, Friis-Hansen B, Kildeberg P: Intensive Care in the Newborn I. New York, Masson Publishing, (Middlefart Meeting), 1976 Stern L, Oh W, Friis-Hansen B: Physiologic Foundations of Perinatal Care. New York, NY, Elsevier Publishing Co., (Durham, New Hampshire Meeting), 1978 Stern L, Salle B, Friis-Hanses B: Intensive Care of the Newborn III. New York, NY, Masson Publishing, (st.Julien de Beaujolais Meeting), 1987 Stern L, Xanthou M, Friis-Hansen B: Physiologic Foundations of Perinatal Care. New York, NY, Praeger, (Spetsos Meeting), 1985 Stern L, Orzalezi M, Friis-Hansen B: Physiologic Foundations of Perinatal Care. New York, NY, Elsevier, (Sardina Meeting), 1989 Oh W, Schiff D, Bratlid D: Current topics in neonatology. Semin Perinatol 16:161-204, 1992 (Soria Moria and Lake Louise Meetings) Oh W, Schiff D, Bratlid D, Vert P: Current topics in neonatology. Semin Perinatol 18:1-42, 1994 (Chatham Bars Meeting) Oh W, Schiff D, Koppe J, Vert P: Current topics in neonatology, Semin Perinatol 20:152-163, 1996 (Garderen meeting)
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Garderen, the Netherlands, were European venues, countered by places such as Banff, Alberta, Canada; St. Addle, Qu6bec, Canada; Durham, New Hampshire, USA; Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA (2); Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada, as North American ones. The 526 pages of the first proceedings book, as well as contemporary coverage by the Swedish TV and press, documented the wide-ranging scope of the inaugural meeting and comprised many aspects of the developing specialty. Perhaps George Gregory's unveiling of his technique of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) and Marshal Klaus' early studies of maternal-infant attachment, were the first intimations for most present of these now well-accepted concepts. Stanley Graven reported on one of the first integrated regionalization programs in the United States, and many other hot subjects were touched upon by contributors from both sides of the Atlantic, and even further afield. Witness the paper by Heese and colleagues from Cape Town, perhaps the only truly perinatal paper in the program with contributors from obstetrics and anesthesia, as well as neonatology. Australia was represented by the later Eric Burnard, a New Zealander from Sydney, Australia, detailing the problems in supplying neonatal intensive care to the diverse communities of New South Wales. These are examples of the quality of the presentations and the nature of the individuals who participated. T h e second meeting was held two years later at the School of Fine Arts, Banff, Alberta, Canada; thus began the tradition of meeting bi-annually, alternating between Europe and North America. This format has persisted to the present, with the most recent meeting in Garderen, the Netherlands, in the summer of 1995. The organization is informal, without constitution or fixed membership. However, a slowly changing European and North American core organizes programs and invitations to keep on the leading edge of perinatal progress. This is exemplified in the current issue of Seminars in Perinatology, with articles ranging from more cutting-edge issues, such as gene regulation p h e n o m e n a and use o f nitric oxide, to more conventional issues surrounding surfactant and BPD. One or more
Seminars in Perinatology, Vol 20, No 3 (June), 1996: pp 162-163
The International Perinatal Collegium: An Historical Overview
organizers from the host countries takes the lead in setting up the local arrangements. Perhaps as important as the formal delivery of papers at these bi-annual meetings has been the contacts that have been made at a time of rapid development of the subspecialty. These contacts have resulted not only in the personal exchanges of scientific knowledge, but also in forging interdepartmental university links with mutually advantageous interchange of senior and junior staff, research collaborations, career development, and expert editorial assistance. The proceedings of meetings have been widely disseminated, some in dedicated volumes, or as special reports in existing journals (as in this issue of Seminars in Pet~natology), and always as printed books of abstracts to the participants. The persistence of this informal collegium to the point that its Silver Anniversary meeting is now being organized, testifies to the useful role which this bi-annual gathering of interested physicians continues to fulfill. It supplements the more formal organizations in a rather special way-introducing the participants, from varied backgrounds, to different practices and ideas. It also opens areas of fruitful collaboration in ways not always available in more formal channels. It represents a sport or mutation which is persisting because of its survival value to the subspecialty of perinatal intensive care. The support for maintaining these meetings has been the responsibility of each of the local organizers. However, Mead Johnson Nutritionals have always been there, and continue to be, a major force in the sustainment of this unique organization. PAUL R. SW~R, MD
163
Publications of Proceedings Swyer PR: Abstracts of select papers presented at the International Conference on Intensive Care of the Newborn, 1974. Banff, Alberta, Canada: August 28-September 1, 1973. Crit Care Med 2:50-56, 1974 Stetson JB, Swyer PR: Neonatal Intensive Care. St, Louis, MO, Warren H. Green, (Stora Korno Meeting), 1976 Stern L, Friis-Hansen B, Kildeberg P: Intensive Care in the Newborn I. New York, Masson Publishing, (Middlefart Meeting), 1976 Stern L, Oh W, Friis-Hansen B: Physiologic Foundations of Perinatal Care. New York, NY, Elsevier Publishing Co., (Durham, New Hampshire Meeting), 1978 Stern L, Salle B, Friis-Hanses B: Intensive Care of the Newborn III. New York, NY, Masson Publishing, (st.Julien de Beaujolais Meeting), 1987 Stern L, Xanthou M, Friis-Hansen B: Physiologic Foundations of Perinatal Care. New York, NY, Praeger, (Spetsos Meeting), 1985 Stern L, Orzalezi M, Friis-Hansen B: Physiologic Foundations of Perinatal Care. New York, NY, Elsevier, (Sardina Meeting), 1989 Oh W, Schiff D, Bratlid D: Current topics in neonatology. Semin Perinatol 16:161-204, 1992 (Soria Moria and Lake Louise Meetings) Oh W, Schiff D, Bratlid D, Vert P: Current topics in neonatology. Semin Perinatol 18:1-42, 1994 (Chatham Bars Meeting) Oh W, Schiff D, Koppe J, Vert P: Current topics in neonatology, Semin Perinatol 20:152-163, 1996 (Garderen meeting)